Jeep Compass Trailhawk

InOmaha

InOmaha

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I had to drive down to Texas this week for work. Apparently even with the COVIDs, people still like the electricity to stay on.

The rental car place didn't have my normal Camry or Chevy, Hyundai, etc equivalent. They gave me a Jeep Compass Trailhawk for "no extra charge" and I drove it 13 hours yesterday.

Definitely not a Jeep. Its an okay car. I can sit more upright than a Camry but it's basically the same feel. Computer this, computer that, I have to look at a screen to switch from radio to heating then touch screen my temperature for each side. Comfortable enough ride and 28.5 mpg average. I have no idea if the snow, sand, mud, wet, dial a wheel works.

Its probably just a small Bronco setup. Boring, no feedback, takes a passenger to set basic functions or you take your eyes off the road. Looks like every other crossover. Gets to 100 quickly if you need to pass on a 2 lane highway.

I need to figure out if I can turn off the engine shutoff when stopped thing. It makes driving in traffic difficult.

Best part was the aux jack for pandora because the radio stations in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are mostly country, religious, or political.

I'd probably buy a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CRV if my wife was in the market for something like this thing.

Comes with a trail rated badge. But I'd only take it on trails I could probably get though with just about any car. If its like my Highlander, some expensive plastic piece would probably break off.
 
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It’s got to just be based on some Fiat or Dodge platform. Good for commuting and that’s about it. However, I would rather buy a Honda or Toyota at that point.
 
I’ve had one for a rental too. Not a bad car, and good in poor weather. Fuel economy is great for the size.

I watched one attempt to go off-road at our local park. It was pretty pathetic but the driver wasn’t making it any better. Just bashing along the trail beating the underside to death. With little ground clearance and less articulation you really have to place your wheels in the right spots. There are some YouTube channels dedicated to the Fiat Jeeps. The go places I cannot believe but they take forever to get it done.
 
I like what they did with the refresh on the Cherokee going back to actual headlights, but I agree, if I was in the market for a compact crossover, it wouldn’t be a Jeep.
 
we rented a Cherokee this summer on our beach vacation in Gulf Shores. Mid-vacation, our airline announced they would start requiring masks on children 2 and up. They declined my request for a member of the crew to sit next to my 2 year old and have him keep his mask on, so I extended the rental, cancelled our flights, and drove from Gulf Shores back to Denver.

My impression was much the same. Was an ok highway car, but nothing special. Definitely nothing I would take on any sort of trail, though a Cherokee did follow me over Imogene Pass this summer, so there's that.

I actually do enjoy the infotainment system in the Chrysler vehicles that I've rented in the last few years more than any other carmaker. About half the time they have a satellite radio subscription, which was nice driving from Alabama to Colorado and the 2 times I've driven to Arkansas and back in June. Last week I had a Chevy Equinox and it just felt cheap in comparison.
 
I have 1000 miles on it with 800 to go. Just a car.

I love my 2006.

I'd rather drive my Mini Cooper. More connection to the road.

I get it. People want a lazy boy with the works. Lane departure and speed warnings, etc. If I drive 2000 miles it's okay. Boring forget about it.

I love my old school even more. Eh, be different. I might not enjoy 2,000 miles in a TJ but I know I wouldn't 100,000 in a Compass. I might as well buy a Toyota Camry.
 
The Compass platform is essentially the new Dodge Neon. It was a shared platform with the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot. I had 2 Compasses, both 5speed manuals, a 2010 and a 2012. The 12 was replaced by a 14 Cherokee which I don't recall what platform that shared.
 
My wife had a 15 Cherokee 4cyl she bought brand new. What a pile. Transmission was giving out. Left her stranded once with our kids in the car. The stealership just reprogrammed it. Thats a typical ploy these days. Keep f-ing with the software till it's out of warranty. Decent gas milage but it had intermittent problems with a few things. The drivers side rear window would sporadically not roll up. Yeah, fun trip to Disneyland in the rain with a window that wouldn't roll up. I had to manually reverse the terminals on the motor so it would roll back up......on four separate occasions. Not fun.

She traded it plus 12k down payment (yeah, she was in the negative on that pile of hot garbage) for a Toyota Highlander this summer.
 
My wife has a 18 Renegade 4x4 ,believe it or not it went threw some pretty narley trails for a stock little toaster .She dont know I did it so keep it between us .But still feels like a little car .
 
cjjeepman said:
My wife has a 18 Renegade 4x4 ,believe it or not it went threw some pretty narley trails for a stock little toaster .She dont know I did it so keep it between us .But still feels like a little car .
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My wife is driving what we call the TrailToaster, an '18 Renegade Trailhawk. We loaded it up with everything (dual sunroof, winter package with heated steering wheel, Beats audio, etc) and still didn't spend over $28K. Nice little ride, and it crawls malls with the best of the JKU and JLUs around us!
 
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